Arsenal had an eventful international break, with 18 players initially called up for the September-October fixtures.
One of those 18 call-ups withdrew very quickly, with Declan Rice pulling out at the start of the break. The good news is that he’s reportedly fit for the return of club football this weekend.
Similarly, Martin Odegaard suffered a knock against Portugal, but recovered to play the rest of Norway’s games, and Max Dowman withdrew from the England u19s, but is back in training with Arsenal already.
The more serious injury concerns are around Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis. Neither are expected to miss months, but both face weeks out with muscle injuries.
There’s also some doubt around Ezri Konsa, after he pulled out of the break before England’s final game. Though Thomas Tuchel played down the severity of the issue in his press conference.
On the positive side, Arsenal players scored 13 goals over the break, with Viktor Gyokeres (four) and Mikel Merino (three) contributing most of them. The other scorers were Bukayo Saka (twice) James Scanlon, Riccardo Calafiori, Christos Tzolis, and Bruno Guimaraes.
There were also six assists, four of them from Odegaard, the other two from Merino and Martin Zubimendi.
The goal contributions should be good for their confidence, but obviously the injuries will be the primary focus for the fans.
Arsenal international call-ups for September-October
Gabriel Magalhaes & Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil), Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, & Myles Lewis-Skelly (England), Kai Havertz (Germany), James Scanlon (Gibraltar), Christos Tzolis (Greece), Riccardo Calafiori (Italy), Jurrien Timber (Netherlands), Ceadach O’Neill (Northern Ireland), Martin Odegaard (Norway), David Raya, Mikel Merino, & Martin Zubimendi (Spain), and Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden).
Arsenal international results for September-October
Times in BST
Wednesday, September 23rd
- Gibraltar 0-0 Sao Tome & Principe – Friendly – Scanlon played 45 minutes.
Thursday, September 24th
- Netherlands 1-1 Germany – Nations League – Timber didn’t feature for the Netherlands, Havertz played 30 minutes for Germany and picked up an injury.
- Serbia 1-2 Greece – Nations League – Tzolis played 90 minutes and scored for Greece.
- Norway 3-2 Denmark – Nations League – Odegaard played 90 minutes and provided two assists for Norway.
Friday, September 25th
- Australia 1-1 Brazil – Friendly – Guimaraes played 62 minutes, Gabriel didn’t feature.
- Georgia 0-1 Northern Ireland – Nations League – O’Neill played four minutes as a substitute for his competitive debut.
- Italy 0-2 Belgium – Nations League – Calafiori played 90 minutes.
- Sweden 2-1 Romania – Nations League – Gyokeres played 76 minutes and scored.
Saturday, September 26th
- England 2-3 Spain – Nations League – Lewis-Skelly played 70 minutes, Konsa played 90 minutes, Saka played 83 minutes, and Eze was unused for England, Merino played 8 minutes and Raya and Zubimendi were unused for Spain.
Sunday, September 27th
- Gibraltar 0-0 Andorra – Nations League – Scanlon played 78 minutes.
- Serbia 1-2 Netherlands – Nations League – Timber played 10 minutes as a substitute.
- Germany 0-1 Greece – Nations League – Tzolis played 81 minutes.
- Norway 1-2 Portugal – Nations League – Odegaard played 90 minutes.
Monday, September 28th
- Turkiye 1-4 Italy – Nations League – Calafiori didn’t feature.
- Northern Ireland 0-0 Hungary – Nations League – O’Neill didn’t feature.
- Sweden 1-1 Poland – Nations League – Gyokeres played 89 minutes and scored.
Tuesday, September 29th
- Australia 2-4 Brazil – Friendly – Gabriel played 90 minutes, Guimaraes played 83 minutes and scored.
- Czechia 0-2 England – Nations League – Lewis-Skelly played 45 minutes, Saka played 71 minutes, Eze came on for 45 minutes as a substitute, Konsa was an unused substitute.
- Spain 4-1 Croatia – Nations League – Zubimendi played 72 minutes, Merino played 57 and provided an assist, Raya was unused.
Thursday, October 1st
- Malta 1-1 Gibraltar – Nations League – Scanlon played 90 minutes and scored an equaliser for Gibraltar.
- Greece 2-2 Netherlands – Nations League – Timber played 78 minutes for the Netherlands, Tzolis played 18 minutes for Greece and picked up an injury.
- Wales 2-1 Norway – Nations League – Odegaard played 90 minutes and provided an assist.
Friday, October 2nd
- France 1-1 Italy – Nations League – Calafiori played 90 minutes.
- Ukraine 0-3 Northern Ireland – Nations League – O’Neill played 6 minutes.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-1 Sweden – Nations League – Gyokeres played 90 minutes and scored.
Saturday, October 3rd
- India 0-4 Brazil – Friendly – Gabriel and Guimaraes each played 45 minutes as second-half substitutes.
- Croatia 0-7 England – Nations League – Saka played 90 minutes and scored two goals, Konsa played 90 minutes and helped England to a clean sheet, but picked up an injury in the process, Eze played 20 minutes as a substitute, Lewis-Skelly played 11.
- Spain 3-1 Czechia – Nations League – Raya played 90 minutes, Merino played 23 minutes as a substitute and scored, Zubimendi played 13 minutes as a substitute.
Sunday, October 4th
- Netherlands 2-1 Serbia – Nations League – Timber didn’t feature.
- Portugal 2-1 Norway – Nations League – Odegaard played 90 minutes and provided an assist.
Monday, October 5th
- Liechtenstein 0-2 Gibraltar – Friendly – Scanlon played 76 minutes.
- Italy 3-1 Turkiye – Nations League – Calafiori played 34 minutes and scored his first goal for Italy.
- Northern Ireland 0-0 Georgia – Nations League – O’Neill didn’t feature.
- Romania 0-1 Sweden – Nations League – Gyokeres played 90 minutes and scored.
Tuesday, October 6th
- England 3-0 Czechia – Nations League – Lewis-Skelly played 90 minutes, Eze played 90 minutes, Saka was an unused substitute, Konsa withdrew from the squad.
- Croatia 1-2 Spain – Nations League – Merino played 45 minutes as a substitute and scored twice, Zubimendi played 19 minutes as a subsitute and provided an assist, Raya was unused.
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